Monsanto Co. v. Durnell

On January 16, 2026 the Supreme Court agreed to review a decision of the Missouri Court of Appeals that allows state products liability law to override federal regulatory law. WLF joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Tort Reform Association, and the Product Liability Advisory Council on an amicus brief, authored by Goodwin Proctor’s Willy Jay and Benjamin Hayes, which supported Monsanto’s petition for review. The amicus brief argued that state tort law cannot flout express preemption provisions in federal law by undermining the congressionally mandated, science-based regulation of herbicide labeling. Imposing state tort liability for failing to provide a label warning that EPA has determined is false and misleading, and thus should not be provided, would place manufacturers like Monsanto in an impossible quandary.